About

Dance Papi is the best place on the web to learn salsa, Cuban salsa, conga drums and hand percussion online for free. We’re adding new courses to our videos section soon. Subscribe to our email list and get access to more videos, unique events and the latest news. We can’t wait to meet you on the dance floor.

Our Team

Ariel Ceja

Founder

Ariel Ceja founded Dance Papi after becoming frustrated by the lack of online dance resources. Dance Papi aims to fill this void by becoming the best place on the web to learn social dances and Latin percussion by featuring instructive videos.

Prior to launching Dance Papi, Ariel studied film at Occidental College, worked as general manager for Ceja Vineyards and opened Bistro Sabor, a small eatery in Napa that served contemporary expressions of Latin America’s favorite street food and snacks. He currently attempts to go out social dancing two to three times per week, is obsessed with the band Punch Brothers, sometimes posts cooking videos on salud! napa, enjoys sipping all styles of Pinot Noir and relishes a good hug so give him one if you see him.

Nicole Lazo

Salsa On1 Instructor

Nicole Lazo is one of Sacramento’s top salsa instructors. She is an elegant and graceful dancer who is known for her unique, sexy styling and body movement on and off the dance floor, and a true love for teaching. In addition, her humble attitude and approachable personality make her popular amongst the Sacramento dance community today. She has an ability to effortlessly follow any lead and break down complicated patterns and moves into simple steps anyone can learn.

Nicole Lazo fell in love with salsa dancing sight unseen. Even before her very first lesson began she bought tights (which she quickly learned she did not need) and dance shoes (a half size too large because no one told her ladies’ shoes should be bought in a smaller size). Throughout her childhood, she took dance classes, as little girls are apt to do, and quickly realized that she would fearlessly dance anywhere, anytime! Ultimately, it was her experience teaching swing dancing in the piazzas of Rome, combined with her innate love of Latin rhythm, that brought her to a local dance studio.

After two vigorous years of training and numerous performances at business parties, fashion shows, restaurants, and salsa clubs, she is now independently teaching and is a pillar in the salsa community. Her vivacious energy and elegance are contagious to all those around her. Having traveled throughout California, Mexico, and El Salvador to be trained in salsa, Nicole still continues to seek opportunities to further broaden and diversify her knowledge of Latin dance.

Nicole brings fresh movement and style straight from her travels right into the dance studio! With a focus on truly dancing to the music, rather than simply learning steps in a sequence, regardless of musicality, Nicole has a unique approach to teaching. She often begins with a variety of footwork and then matches movement to the music in her warm-up. Nicole takes great care in breaking down dance steps and body movement to help students develop strong technique (and “fast feet”!). Nicole teaches both men and women to lead and/or follow.

Serena Wong

Cuban Salsa Instructor

Serena Wong has been dancing professionally since 2000. She has been trained in many styles of dance including ballet, tap, and jazz. Most recently she fell in love with Cuban salsa and Brazilian dance. Serena has trained in New York, Brazil, Los Angeles, Miami and San Francisco. She also studies yearly in Cuba with Yanek Revilla in Santiago. Currently she performs in local samba and salsa dance companies and teaches dance at the YMCA. Serena is the co-director of Salsa Vale Todo and the co-producer of the San Francisco Salsa Rueda Festival.

Serena is available for group and private lessons, workshops and special events.

Nicholas Van Eyck

Cuban Salsa Instructor

For over 14 years, Nicholas Van Eyck was a martial arts and movement instructor. Partner dancing and salsa were a natural progression. For the past 13 years, Nicholas has been teaching Salsa and in particular, Cuban style Salsa, bringing to it his existing concepts of connection, balance, and fluidity. Nicholas combines decades of Cuban tradition with modern movement concepts of space, timing, and flow.

Presently, he teaches club-style Salsa, Rueda de Casino, cha cha cha, son, and several martial arts. Nicholas has trained and taught all over the U.S., including extended periods in Cuba, Miami, New York, and Texas. Nicholas trains yearly with Yanek Revilla and Karelia Despaigne in Havana and Santiago de Cuba. He has also taught in Hawaii, Las Vegas and all over California at numerous Salsa Congresses, Festivals and Cruises and is the co-star of "The Quick And Dirty Guide To Salsa vol. 4". He has trained numerous instructors now teaching in S.F., Oakland, Portland and other cities in the U.S. Nicholas is the co-director of Salsa Vale Todo and the co-producer of the Salsa Rueda Festival in San Francisco.

Nicholas is available for group and private lessons, workshops as well as special events, video projects and film.

Edgardo Cambon

Music Educator

Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Edgardo Cambón is a Bay Area based percussionist, vocalist, educator and band leader with over 33 years of professional experience. As a highly sought-after musician in the U.S.A., Edgardo has performed or recorded with artists as varied as Jesús “Chucho” Valdés, Eddie Palmieri, Santana, Jerry Rivera, Eddie Santiago, Keith Terry, Omar Sosa, Andy Narell, Rebeca Mauleón, Giovanni Hidalgo, Eddie Montalvo and Johnny Rodriguez among many others. He is an LP (Latin Percussion) instruments endorser and has traveled the world as a LP clinician.

Since 1987, Edgardo has played lead on congas and has sung vocals in the acclaimed salsa band “Candela." He has released 3 albums with Candela and is proud of featuring many of his own compositions.

As an in demand conga instructor, Edgardo’s style of teaching is lively, easy going, and very effective. He utilizes the skills learned not just in the music field but also as a graduate of the National Institute of Physical Education (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1978 to 81.) Edgardo teaches students proper technique while focusing on musicality and having fun.

Jessica Mehta

Contributing Writer

Jessica Mehta first fell in love with salsa dancing when she spent a year in South Korea teaching English to business executives in the morning and Kindergartners in the afternoon. Ten years later, she’s the author of five books including The Wrong Kind of Indian published by Wyatt-MacKenzie Press, two books of poetry including the Pulitzer Prize nominated The Last Exotic Petting Zoo and What Makes an Always published by Tayen Lane Publishing, and the business book 100 Ways to Make $100k with Your English Degree.

She is the founder of MehtaFor (www.mehtafor.com), a writing services company which serves a variety of clients including Fortune 500 enterprises and major media outlets. Her company received two national bronze awards for Startup of the Year in 2015. As a member of the Cherokee Nation, Jessica offers complimentary writing services through her company to Native American students and non-profits based in the Pacific Northwest and/or serving Native communities. Jessica also received a Writers in the Schools (WITS) residency from the Oregon Literary Arts Council for 2015-16.

She received her master’s degree in writing from Portland State University in 2007, and established The Jessica Tyner Scholarship Fund in 2013. Jessica lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and continues to dance, practice yoga as a certified instructor, and write.

Mariah Ore

Contributing Writer

Mariah Ore graduated from the University of Montana in 2013 and moved to Portland, Oregon, where she lives currently. When Mariah isn't biking, dancing, or checking out Portland's music scene, you can find her enjoying a strong cup of coffee and typing away at one of the many coffee shops in town.

Mariah first learned how to dance salsa while living in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. She is excited to rediscover the dance along with Dance Papi's readers.

Mariah is a freelance writer, poet, and essayist. To contact her or to view more of her writing, visit www.moremariah.com.

Katharine A. Díaz

Contributing Writer

Katharine A. Díaz is a writer, editor and broadcaster. Her broadcast experience includes producing and hosting “Canto Tropical” on KPFK-90.7 FM in Los Angeles that focuses on salsa and Afro-Cuban music. The program has been on the air since 1986 and serves all of Southern California and can be heard globally at kpfk.org. She has also hosted similar radio programs in Miami and Austin.

As a freelance writer, specializing in writing about Latino issues, music, food, culture and travel, her work has appeared in AARP VIVA, Latino Magazine, VISTA, Aboard Magazine, South Florida Gourmet Magazine, Corporate and Incentive Travel Magazine, Hispanic Trends, the Encyclopedia Latina and other publications. She was managing editor for Hispanic Magazine and edited six other national magazines, including the groundbreaking CAMINOS magazine.

Díaz recently published her first book, a cookbook titled “Sabores Yucatecos: A Culinary Tour of the Yucatán” (WPR Books: Comida, 2012). A Spanish-language edition – “Sabores Yucatecos: Un recorrido culinario a Yucatán” - was published in 2014.

Maria Camila Peña Pedroza

Contributing Writer

Maria Camila Peña Pedroza is a Colombian journalist and 2010 Universidad Externado de Colombia graduate currently residing in the United States. As a travel and lifestyle writer, editor, interviewer and blogger with experience covering stories in both Spanish and English, Maria has traveled the globe in search of memorable adventures.